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Canadiens' long negotiation with Subban puzzling

Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (76) handles the puck during the second period against the New York Rangers in game six of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.(Photo: Andy Marlin, USA TODAY Sports)

The only criticism that can be directed to the Montreal Canadiens' signing defenseman P.K. Subban to a new eight-year deal is to wonder why it took the two parties this long to get there.

The average of $9 million per season figure is what you would expect, given that you are locking him up for eight seasons. Only 14 months ago, he was judged to be the NHL's top defenseman through Norris Trophy balloting.

You can always nit-pick a superstar, and point to the fact that other defensemen were ranked ahead of him on the Canadian Olympic team.

But Subban is a difference-maker, and he is a major reason why the Canadiens are a playoff team. Other than goalie Carey Price, no one on the Canadiens matches Subban's ability to determine the outcome of a game.

Since the salary cap was introduced in 2005, it has become standard operating procedure for teams to attempt to tie up their top player without much fuss.

The best example of that came this summer when the Chicago Blackhawks signed Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to eight year extensions. It was a foregone conclusion that the deal was going to get done.

No animosity. No protracted negotiations. No problems.

The Subban negotiation path has been anything but smooth. We even had an arbitration hearing, meaning the Canadiens had to say why they believed Subban wasn't worth the $8.5 million he wanted on a one-year deal. Montreal only offered Subban $5.25 million in the arbitration process.

The $9 million figure should not have been too difficult to reach considering that Subban's numbers have been very similar to Weber's offensive numbers. Weber is more physical, but Subban owns a Norris trophy. Weber's number is $7.87 million per season. Adjust for the time passed since that deal was signed and the $9 million cap hit per seems logical.

Without knowing how the negotiations went, it's difficult to assign blame. But we know this negotiation should not have taken this long.

The only good news is that apparently Subban is holding no hard feelings about the bumpy negotiations. We know that because he accepted the eight-season offer. If he was ticked off, he would have waited for the arbitrator's ruling and left when he had unrestricted free agency. He would have gotten $9 million, maybe more on the open market.

It's quite clear that Subban wanted to play in Montreal. That should please Habs fans.

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Twenty players filed for salary arbitration and another three had their club file for arbitration. Many likely will settle before the hearing. A look at the schedule and the 23 players:
Bruce Bennett, Getty Images